The 2-week wait for the Iowa-Penn State football game is underway

Is it possible Iowa’s football team faces more interim head coaches than defeats this season?

Almost anything is possible, of course, but the current rendition of the Big Ten may have fully imploded by the time Iowa gets to the end of its 2023 schedule. Northwestern’s coach of 17 years, Pat Fitzgerald, was fired in July amid allegations of hazing issues within his program.

This weekend, USA TODAY published a story that Michigan State Coach Mel Tucker is accused of sexually harassing a rape survivor, and Tucker almost surely won’t be coaching the Spartans when they play at Iowa Sept. 30.

After reading that full story, it makes talk about football itself seem even more trivial than normal. Be glad the biggest 2023 off-field news about college football in Iowa involves players who placed bets.

It was a great weekend in Iowa’s camp. The Hawkeyes prevailed at Iowa State, 20-13, and are 2-0 despite ranking 126th in the nation in total offense at 259.5 yards per game.

They just beat a team that is ranked 125th. The fact Iowa State and Iowa each battled against fine defenses Saturday has more than a little to do with those rankings, but certainly not everything.

Something interesting after Saturday’s game ought to bring comfort to Hawkeye fans who fear a lack of offensive punch will again catch up to their team. Which is, their head coach and quarterback were extremely optimistic after the game.

You expect it from players, who often think all good things are on the horizon. But QB Cade McNamara knows what winning football looks like, and sees what we don’t or can’t.

“I think overall everyone’s just getting better,” McNamara said with enthusiasm after Game 2, calling his teammates “passionate” about improving.

When button-down coaches use the word “excited” after Game 2, pay attention.

“The thing I’m most excited about is I just think we have a lot of potential and will continue to grow,” Ferentz said.

Maybe you’re skeptical, maybe not. But the more I look at Iowa’s schedule, the more I see opportunity instead of trepidation.

The game at Penn State on Sept. 23 obviously will be the major test. It’s Penn State, not Ohio State, that looks like the biggest threat to unseat Michigan as the Big Ten East champs.

Beyond that, though, there isn’t a great team on Iowa’s slate. Wisconsin, the preseason pick to win the West by many, is fresh off a 31-22 loss at Washington State, its second loss to the Cougars in two years.

The Badgers have made five turnovers in two games and have forced none, putting them in a tie for 130th in the nation in turnover margin ahead of just one team. That’s Nebraska, which has eight turnovers and 19 points in two games.

Illinois, which had a season-long defensive performance that rivaled Iowa’s in 2022, has allowed 62 points in two games and gave up 539 yards Friday in a 34-23 loss at Kansas.

Minnesota’s defense has been very good through two games, but let’s see how the Gophers do Saturday against North Carolina’s prolific offense and its fantastic quarterback, Drake Maye. Purdue had a nice win Saturday at Virginia Tech after a season-opening loss to Fresno State, but the 2022 West champs have miles to go.

Northwestern? It can’t play UTEP every week.

Meanwhile, the Utah State team Iowa topped, 24-14, in Week 1 defeated Idaho State Saturday, 78-28. The Aggies scored 44 points in the second quarter against a team that lost by just 36-28 at San Diego State the week before.

One can’t note anything as upbeat about the Hawkeyes’ opponent Saturday, Western Michigan. If this isn’t a one-sided Iowa win, something has gone terribly haywire in Iowa City.

The Broncos got a 75-yard touchdown run 30 seconds into their game at Syracuse on Saturday, and then should have gone home to Kalamazoo. They rushed for 22 yards the rest of the game, didn’t score again, and were behind 45-7 at halftime.

Syracuse showed tender mercy after that, winning by only 48-7.

You can allow yourself to peek ahead at the Iowa-Penn State game. In fact, why wouldn’t you?

Comments: (319) 398-8440; mike.hlas@thegazette.com